Got home this evening with Vintage set #2!

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randycmaynard

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Just got home this evening with the mid 70s White-Westinghouse Spacemates front load washer and its matching dryer. Thanks Ron (Dynaflow) for making this set available for purchase - looking forward to tinkering with them for awhile.

Below are some photos I quickly snapped after I got them unloaded with some help from a couple of my strong backed neighbors - that little Westy washer is a bitch to move.... weighs a ton or at least seems that way with all that concrete bolted inside.

Will post more over the next few weeks as I get the garage cleaned and things moved around to get these ladies in their permenant places. This will be all for me for awhile - my wife is about to threaten bodily harm if I bring anything else home...... for awhile anyway - there's always one out there somewhere waiting for a good home.

My vintage collection of items are as follows:

1972 KitchenAid Mixer in Avacado Green - all original.
Mid 1970s White Westinghouse Spacemates - Washer and dryer.
1963-64 Kenmore 600 Washer - just like mom had.
1985 Allen Organ Company - ADC 3500 Theatre Organ.
A number of vintage Christmas tree ornaments - belonged to my mom.

That's about it for now - photos below!

randycmaynard++3-29-2010-23-15-46.jpg
 
Mid 70s White Westy Spacemates.......

Well that's all for tonight/morning.... will post more as I get things situated, up and running!
 
Randy those are nice westy's. I like spacemates. Would of been great if they kept that design that uses a fair amount of water. I guess there were problems with getting the design to work with new faster spins. They look to be in good shape. alr2903
 
I was going to say late 80's -90 my mom had one in the 80's and the timer didnt look like that!! I really want to say its from the 90's
 
Heavy is right

Back in the late '90's friends had a set of these that were thoroughly worn out. I helped him take them to the dump and that was the heaviest washer I have ever moved.
 
My 08 GE Frontloader, while bigger, is not

as heavy as this little westy.... two of us got it into my truck bed and took three to get it out and over to its temp
place in the garage. Definatly one heavy little beast!
 
The clean flat syling and sharp geometry (pic#1)

are cool to look at. I like the futuristic look of the controls. YAY for front loader days at Aworg!
 
Yes they look more mid to late 80's than 70's.

I would have to agree it looks to be "newer". I have a 1994 White Westy set (photo) and as you can see the control panel looks very similer. Mine does not have the "Weigh-to-Save" door however.

Plug it in and put it into spin. If it makes a loud "clunk" and ramps right up to speed it's the older drive system. If you hear a seperate pump come on and it takes 30 seconds or so to start ramping up to speed, it's the "newer" drive system like mine.

I actually have both a 1990 and a 1994 version and they have a variable speed, reversing DC motor. It's much quietier and it will "reverse-tumble" when washing or rinsing. (I think, though I don't know for sure, they changed to the "newer" drive system in the mid-late 80's.)

Kevin

revvinkevin++3-31-2010-13-47-6.jpg
 
Nice machine!

When you talked about driving systems... I immediatly thought about that potatoepully they talked about so much in the past. What is it and what's the benefit?
 
The potato pulley......

The westy I have has the potato pulley on it and it does not have as many of the features as the mid 90s version above. Just three dials - the main control dial, water temp selector and the water level selector along with the weigh to save indicator behind the door. It may very well be 80s though we were thinking 70s - looks very similar to the Spacemates that Pearl Baily used to advertise in TV commercials for WW. Robert may have that link on the site under the vintage appliance vids or you can find it on YouTube.

Ran it through a couple of cycles - one with a small load of clothing then a pretty heavy one and there was not any problems - no leaks anywhere, motor runs fine and it's a suprisingly quite maching while washing but the spin part can really rattle things and that is due, in part, to the fact tha I have it set up in a temporary location so it's not as sure footed as it should be but that will change once I get the permenant place ready and get it moved in.

I will post some vids on YouTube of the cycles - really neat little washer and I like seeing the high water level - things actually get really good and wet and good suds up the view window too.
 
one of the baffles in the washer unscrews out, and has an open slot to clean out the "trap" of coins.....when this gets filled it can make quiet a racket during the spin....just a thought of something to check...
 
WHITE WESTINGHOUSE SPACE MATES

The models you have were made from 1984-june 1988 the new drive system came out in 1989 and ended in early 1994. The three belt machine was a fun washer and much more durable than the single belt models.Either baffle can be removed and the sump baffle can be unscrewed and pushed to the left and the sump strainer can be cleaned and also the bottom of the tub.
 
adjustable water level...

love the mechanical controls and would LOVE the option of choosing how much water one can use for a load, to be able to run a small load with enough water but not pre-set, wish more had such a feature today
 
The westy I have.....

is the older drive system - has the three belts, potato pulley and makes the "clunk" sound into the full extract speed. Also, the drum turns only one direction - clockwise - it's not the reversing tumble like the FLs built these days or like the newer westys.

It is a fun machine - both loads of wash today did fine... no problems with the machine at all. It worked just like the one a friend of my mother's had. I remember this lady would baby sit me and my sister on occasion and she had a Spacemates set and it was definately 1970s and though installed in a stacked configuration in her hall bath - it sure could rock and roll going into the extract.
 
BTW.....

A little LOL! to Bob (Appnut) in Texas..... from time to time when you see a good machine in operation the comment is almost always "I need a cigarette" - Well Bob, when I get the vid made of this machine doing its thing with the nice full water level and suds half way up the view window.... well one won't do - you'll need a carton! Always like your comments and how you state them.... lots of fun!

So Bob, go and get a carton of your favorite and I'll put a note out when the vid is ready and posted in the next few days.
 
I have one of the one belt machines. It is badged as a Dual Tumble Kenmore. I turned up the water level control to where the high setting fills to the tub light lens. I set it to the lowest setting for washing to get good throw and drop action, but turn it to the highest setting for the rinses. The two vane tub with the reversing tumble action is a clear compromise between saving money by using as much of the old machine as possible and updating it with the motor, timer and other controls. It is clearly superior to the first model that replaced it. Talk about a sorry-ass machine. After the anemic spins between water changes, the pump shut off before the machine stopped spinning and it was not a powerful pump either, leaving sudsy water spinning between the tubs that, instead of being pumped out when the tub slowed from the spin, fell into the sump and became part of the water for the next rinse. I did not know how good a machine the first single belt Space Mate was until I watched its successor perform. The first single belt machines went from a pump powered from the drive motor to a powerful electric pump, BUT, the pump was still located at the bottom of the sump so there was always water over the pump. Newer designs of front loaders place the usually less powerful pump at the bottom of the machine with a long, air-filled hose connecting the sump outlet to the pump. Any water that reaches the pump has to displace air to get there. Unlike the pumps that were located at the opening in the sump, newer pumps don't have the strong suction to pull water out of the outer tub as quickly as it is spun out of the load. That's why the machines often have to stop the spin to pump out the water and do preliminary spins to get rid of the greatest amount of water before going into high speed spins. The three belt Westinghouse design machines and the first of their single belt machines pumped out water during spin much better due to powerful pumps located at the outlet of the sump.
 
That's one thing I noticed as soon as the first water

went into the machine - when it came time to pump it out it sounded like it was being blasted down the stand pipe. It is definately a much, much more powerful pump than on my 08 GE frontloader and even more than the early 60s Kenmore 600 though the Kenmore, while it runs very well, it does need a few repairs but its condition is outstanding for its age and having sat in storage for years but it's fun to use as well.

One of the smaller things to fix on the Westy is getting the interior light working again - bulb is out and getting the new water temp switch permenantly attached - it's in its place temporarily - held in place by the knob. I was running it the first time Tuesday evening and the switch slipped down and contacted the metal ring around the outside tub which shorted and kicked the GFI on the plug circuit so I put it in place and put the knob on to hold it for running the initial laundry loads. Looks like the front panel has to come off to access the interior light for replacement and to access the two screws that hold the control panel switches in place. So, a little work to do yet.

Thanks again to Robert for some assistance - I send him an email about shorting the electrical when the switch slipped. I thought there was a reset on the machine, there isn't, thought it might be a breaker but turned out to be the GFI - I hit the reset on the GFI and all has been fine since. So, the newbie is learning albeit the hard way sometimes!
 
Actually if you don't have huge hands and maybe lube up you wrist if needed, you can peel back the door boot and replace the bayonet base light bulb from the door opening. You can remove the lower panel and wedge something in between the tub and the cabinet to push the tub back a bit to give you more room to work if you need it.
 
I had mentioned the noise when it goes to extract.......

I think it's the springs and shocks - they do have some rust on them and they screech and squeel abit and the back panel over the pulleys needs to be tightened so it doesn't vibrate.
Additionally, when I get it to its permenant place and level it up on solid flooring it should perform much better during the extract parts of the cycle. The one I remeber at one of my mother's friends home could really raise a bit of hell during the extract and it was installed correctly though I think the times I saw it in operation it had been very, very heavily used and was needing work.

At any rate, part of the fun of having these vintage/classic machines is keeping them in good running condition so over time I'll get all three going more like they should be. They never do as well when you have them in a temporary set up.

Thanks Tom for the info on the light bulb change for the interior light. I wonder if you can even find bayonet base bulbs anymore? Brown Appliance Parts here in Knoxville is the place for appliance parts in the area - if they can't find it then it probably can't be found. I emailed them right after I got the Kenmore 600 home a few weeks back and they were very glad to offer any help in finding parts for it when the need arises and I think they would do the same for the westy's.
 

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